We Knew One Day the World Would Need You
by Writing4ever4God
Summary: "And you wouldn't need us anymore." A look at the struggle Korra and her parents went through when it came time for Korra to go live in the compound. R/R


DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from Korra. They belong to Brike. I do however own anyone you don't recognize.  
Enjoy!

A/N: This story came to mind after I read an essay written to explain Tonraq's decision to keep Korra in the compound and Senna's feelings towards that decision.

"We Knew One Day the World Would Need You"

Senna glanced down at her sleeping daughter, placing a hand on her small shoulder. Bending down, she planted a kiss on her right cheek.

"I love you so much, my little one. Daddy and I are so proud of you."

"Senna?"

Senna stood, her hand still on Korra's shoulder. Turning around, she met the concerned eyes of her husband.

"I was just checking on Korra," she explained. "She had a hard time falling asleep."

Tonraq sighed.

"I know." He frowned as he saw unshed tears in his wife's cyan eyes, identical to their daughter's. "Honey, come here…" extending his hand, he led her out of their daughter's room. Entering the hallway near their own bedroom, Tonraq let go of Senna's hand and pulled her into his strong, gentle embrace.

"Tonraq, I…I can't do this," Senna softly confessed as the tears fell steadily down her face, "I can't just give her up. She's our little girl. She needs us. She was so upset tonight. She thinks we don't want her."

"Did she say that?" Tonraq asked, stroking Senna's chestnut brown hair.

"Yes," Senna sniffed back more tears, but they came anyway. "I tried to assure her it wasn't true. I told her we loved her very much and we would always love her. I think she believed me, but she still cried herself to sleep. Tonraq, do you think this is a good idea? She's so young. She's only five. Outside of us and Katara, we're all she has."

Tonraq sighed.

"Senna, this is the safest decision for her," he said in a tone that suggested they had discussed the same topic many times over the last few months.

"We can protect her just as easily," Senna countered.

"I know, but according to Zuko and Tenzin, the people who tried to take her could try again. They know where we live," Tonraq reminded Senna.

"Then why don't we just leave?" Senna suggested. She clarified her words, "All three of us. We could go live with Tenzin and his family on air Temple Island. We could train Korra in waterbending there and she would also get the airbending training she needs. We could find her an earthbending master and a firebending master when the time comes."

Tonraq thought for a moment, considering his wife's plan. After thinking it over for a few minutes, he shook his head.

"They would follow us," he finally concluded.

Senna sighed.

"I just hate the idea of-" her sentence was cut short when they both heard a scream from down the hall.

"Mama!" Korra cried out.

Senna pulled away from her husband and dashed down the hall to her daughter's room.

"Mama!" came the frightened cry again.

"Shh, I'm here, little one, Mama's right here," Senna reached the bed and scooped the five-year-old into her arms. Sitting down, she secured the little girl in her embrace. "Was it another bad dream, honey?"

Korra merely whimpered as she buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

"You're safe now, little one. I have you," her mother soothed. She planted a kiss on Korra's head just as they were joined by Tonraq.

"Senna, is Korra okay?" he asked. He reached their side and placed a hand on Korra's right arm. He was shocked and surprised when she jerked away and tried to push herself further into her mother's hold. Thinking she was just afraid and not aware of his presence yet, he tried talking to her. "Princess, it's okay. It's just me."

Korra didn't respond. She just let out a sob while clinging to her mother.

Seeing Senna had everything under control with Korra, Tonraq made sure everything was right in the room. After he was sure that there hadn't been a second kidnapping attempt, he sat down across from his wife and child.

"Do you want me to stay with you, sweetheart?" Senna asked.

"Please," Korra begged.

"Okay. Why don't you try to get some more sleep," Senna suggested.

"No!" Korra cried.

"Little one, you have to, " her mother said not unkindly. "It's late and you need to be up early tomorrow."

"I don't care!" Korra shouted.

Senna sighed. She knew scolding Korra wouldn't help matters, so she took a different tactic with her.

"Little one talk to me," she gently requested. "Why don't you wanna go back to sleep? I'm gonna stay with you."

"I'm scared!" Korra confessed. "I don't wanna leave you!"

"Sweetheart, I told you, we're gonna stay with you for the first few nights," her mother reminded her.

"You promise?" Korra asked.

"I promise," she kissed her on the head. She started humming while holding Korra close, hoping it would help her fall back to sleep.

"I love you too, princess," Tonraq bent down and placed a kiss on her left cheek.

Korra made an annoyed noise and clung even tighter to her mother.

"Korra?" her mother said as she held her.

"What?" Korra said as her eyes closed.

"Are you mad at Daddy?"

"Senna, I don't think she's…" Tonraq's voice trailed off as Senna put her hand up in astop motion.

Korra slowly nodded her head.

"Why?" Senna asked.

Korra shrugged.

"Little one, you know you can talk to us," Senna reminded her.

"Senna, we'll talk to her about it tomorrow," Tonraq said. "She needs her sleep. I love you both," with that, he kissed Senna on the cheek, ruffled Korra's hair and left the room.

"He wants to send me away," Korra whispered.

"Korra, no," Senna pulled her even closer, "little one, listen to me. Daddy doesn't want to send you away. He loves you, just like I do."

"no he doesn't," Korra glared at the closed door of her bedroom.

"Yes he does. Honey, Daddy loves you so much," her mother tried to convince her of the truth.

Korra stayed silent. She closed her eyes and snuggled into her mother's embrace, the only place she felt safe.

"Oh my little one," Senna whispered, fighting back tears, "Daddy honestly does love you. If we could keep you with us, we would. We both love you so much," with that, Senna tried to get some sleep of her own.

*****

Senna rose early the next morning, despite the fact she had only gotten five hours of sleep. She kissed Korra on the right cheek, whispered that she loved her and left her to get some more sleep. Entering the kitchen, she started making some tea. As she got breakfast together, she was joined by Tonraq.

"Morning, honey," she went over and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met in a passionate kiss a minute later. Pulling away, Senna went back to the stove. "Did you sleep?"

"A little," her husband replied. "You?"

"Pretty much. Korra only woke up once more during the night. Tonraq, I think I made a mistake," she confessed.

"Okay. What makes you say that?" the water tribe man sat down at the table and accepted the cup of tea Senna placed in front of him.

Senna sighed as she took a seat across from him.

"When I was explaining things to Korra, I unintentionally made it sound like I wasn't for the compound. I did tell her we both loved her and we both wanted her to stay safe. But then I said, you came up with the idea because you wanted to protect her."

"Senna, you didn't make a mistake," Tonraq assured her. He reached over and squeezed her hand gently. "What you said was true."

"I know. But I think Korra thinks it was your idea to send her away."

Tonraq sighed.

"I'll talk to her when she wakes up," he decided. He let go of Senna's hand and wrapped it around his warm cup of tea. The sudden sound of something hitting the sink's bottom got Tonraq's attention. He glanced up in time to see a pan slip from Senna's hands. He frowned when he saw her close her eyes. It wasn't long before the sound of quiet sobbing met Tonraq's ears. Standing, he went over to his distraught wife and pulled her in for a hug.

"Shh, it's okay, Senna. Korra's gonna be fine. We all will."

Senna let out another quiet sob as more tears came.

"I just hate not being able to protect her, Tonraq. She's our daughter. We should be the ones who protect her. We shouldn't have to…" her voice trailed off as more tears fell.

"I know, honey. Trust me, everything will work out. I promise. I would never do anything to hurt either of you," he planted a soft kiss on Senna's forehead.

"I know," Senna whispered, "it's just that I have a-" she stopped speaking when she discovered they were no longer alone. Breaking away from her husband's embrace, she wiped at her eyes before going over to the little girl standing in the doorway. "Little one, what are you doing awake?" she knelt down to Korra's level and held her arms out.

"Mama, why are you crying?" Korra asked. She closed the distance between her mother and herself and clung on as she picked her up.

Standing up, Senna carried Korra over to the kitchen table. Sitting down in a chair, she secured her little girl in her lap. Glancing up, she indicated the cooking pancakes with her eyes and Tonraq went to tend to them so they didn't burn.

"Mommy?" Korra said again.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Senna glanced down at her.

"Why were you crying?" she asked.

"I'm just sad about today," Senna answered honestly.

Korra nodded.

"I'm gonna miss you," she frowned.

"Me too, little one," her mother hugged her close. "Daddy and I are gonna miss you so much."

Korra didn't respond to that.

"Okay, sweetheart, I need to put you down so I can get breakfast for us," with that, Senna kissed Korra and set her down in her usual seat.

"I'm not hungry!" Korra whined.

"Will you try eating a little for me?" Senna requested. "I made your favorite."

Korra huffed, but nodded.

"That's my girl," with that, she placed a plate of pancakes in front of Korra. She put some syrup on them before setting a cup of water melon juice in front of her. Getting a plate for TOnraq and one for herself, Senna joined her husband and daughter at the table.

Korra ate all she could, but she couldn't finish it.

Senna didn't force her. She simply wrapped up the leftovers and told Korra she could have them for lunch if she wanted.

Once the dishes were done, Senna helped Korra get dressed for the day. She did her hair in a traditional water tribe braid before letting her do her own thing for a little bit. While Korra was entertaining herself, Senna made sure her daughter's things were packed. As she rechecked some things, she fought back tears. This whole situation was breaking her heart. She wished with everything she had in her that she could change it.

****

Korra shook her head and glared at the white lotus member. He had just announced that her parents would have to leave after lunch that day.

Korra had arrived at the compound two days ago. She had liked learning waterbending from Katara. In fact, she liked Katara a lot. She was nice and treated Korra like a person, not the Avatar. She also made waterbending fun just like her mother did. As for the other white lotus members, Korra would have liked to freeze them all in icebergs.

Korra stood up, continuing to glare at Atain.

"No!" she shouted.

"Avatar," Ataneq started to say, but Korra interrupted him.

"My name is Korra," she corrected him. And without giving him a chance to reply or rephrase his statement, she continued. "You can't make my parents leave!"

Ataneq sighed.

"Korra, you need to train without distraction," he tried to explain.

Korra didn't understand what that meant, but she knew enough to know Ataneq had just said something untrue about her parents.

"Mama isn't a distraction!" she shouted. With that, she bent an entire pitcher of water melon juice at the white lotus member.

"Little one!" Senna started to scold. But when she saw the unshed tears in her little girl's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to finish. Instead, she held her arms out to her. To her surprise, Korra turned and ran out of the room. "Korra!" she called after her. Turning to TOnraq, she said, "I'm going after her."

Tonraq nodded. As he watched his wife leave, he prayed she would be able to get through to their daughter.

****

Korra kept running until she came to a room further down the hallway. She ran inside and threw herself onto the leopard fur rug. Letting out a sob, she let the tears fall. The sound of someone entering the room made her look up. When she saw who it was, she allowed the person to kneel down and pull her into their arms.

"Oh my little one, it's okay," Senna hugged her daughter close as she fought back her own tears.

"Mama, I don't want you and Dad to leave!" Korra cried.

"I know, sweetheart, but we have to. We don't have a choice, baby."

"Tell them you won't leave," Korra suggested with five-year-old innocence.

"Oh honey, I wish it was that simple," her mother planted a kiss on her right cheek, "but it's not."

"You don't wanna stay, do you?" Korra frowned.

"That's not true, little one!" Senna gasped as the accusation left her daughter's mouth. "Daddy and I wanna stay with you so badly."

"Mama, I don't wanna be all alone!" Korra cried.

"You won't be alone, little one. Katara's coming to stay and teach you tomorrow," Senna informed her.

"She is?" Korra asked.

"Uh-huh," her mother nodded.

"Will you and Daddy be back?" Korra asked.

"When they say we can visit, we will," her mother replied. "And Katara might even be able to get them to agree to let you come home for the weekend."

"Really?" Korra's eyes widened.

"Maybe," her mother winked at her. "Now can you try to be brave?"

Korra hesitated as a few more tears fell.

"I'll try," she finally agreed.

"That's my little one. I love you so much."

"We both do," a familiar male voice stated.

Korra glanced up and frowned when she saw her father standing there.

"If you love me, why are you leaving me here?" Korra's eyes were full of a desire to understand.

Tonraq walked over to his family. He reached down and made to take Korra from Senna.

Korra pushed away from him.

"Little one, it's okay. I'm staying. Will you let Daddy hold you?"

"no!" Korra cried.

"Okay, will you listen to me?" Tonraq bargained. "Mommy can still hold you."

Korra nodded grudgingly.

"Mama and I love you more than anything," Tonraq started. "You need to stay here because it's safer."

"You and Mommy can protect me," Korra argued.

"You're right," Senna agreed, "but we can't train you to be the Avatar. Katara and the other masters of earth and fire can do that."

"I don't wanna be the Avatar!" Korra shouted. With that, she burst into tears for the second time that day.

"Shh, little one, it's okay, it's okay…" her mother comforted. She glanced up at Tonraq. "What do we do? We can't leave her like this."

"I agree," Tonraq sighed. "We'll just try to calm her down and go from there."

Senna nodded in agreement. She started humming, knowing it helped Korra fall asleep. It was no exception this time. After ten minutes of Senna humming one of Korra's favorite lullabies, the young mother glanced down to find their little girl was out. She held her for a little longer before tucking her in her new bed. She gave her a kiss, whispered that she loved her and Tonraq did the same. Setting her favorite plush snow leopard beside her, Senna watched Tonraq kiss Korra before both of them did the hardest thing since Korra was born. They left her.

****

The walk back to the house was silent. Neither one of them had wanted to leave Korra, but they knew it was inevitable.

Entering the house, Tonraq went to hang his parka up in the closet. Once that was done, he went searching for Senna. He found her right where he knew she would be. She was holding onto one of Korra's other plush animals, absentmindly petting its fur.

"Senna?" Tonraq asked as he stepped into the room. Approaching his wife, he put his right hand on her shoulder. He wasn't surprised when he felt her shaking. Removing his hand, he reached out his arms to her.

Letting the polar seal fall to the ground, Senna sank into her husband's embrace as more tears fell.

"Shh, shh, Senna, it's okay, Korra will be okay," he tried to convince her as much as himself.

"I feel like we betrayed her," Senna softly confessed.

"Honey, I promise you, we didn't. We're doing the best thing for her," Tonraq ran a hand through Senna's hair while holding her against him.

"I didn't want to leave her. She's our little girl. She's…" her voice trailed off as another sob escaped her lips.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart, shh. I miss her too," Tonraq spent the next ten minutes soothing Senna and trying to calm her down. Finally, he ended up carrying her to their bedroom and tucking her in bed. Lying down beside her, he pulled her into his arms again and held her until she drifted off. He just prayed it was enough until they were reunited with Korra again. And as he glanced out of the window, he prayed to the spirits that he had done the right thing.

*****

Senna shot up in bed a few hours later. She let out a fearful cry as she felt tears streaming down her face.

"Korra!" the cry was full of longing and fear. A mother's longing to hold her child and the need to know she was okay. Unfortunately, Senna wasn't able to do that. This knowledge just made the separation from Korra more unbearable.

"Senna?"

Senna glanced up to see Tonraq coming into the room. She buried her face in his shoulder the second he sat down.

"Honey, what happened?" he asked, pulling her close.

Senna caught her breath as she tried to calm down.

"I don't think leaving Korra there was such a good idea," she said as she choked back another sob.

"I just have a bad feeling about it," Senna explained as she felt a shudder course through her body.

TOnraq sighed.

"Senna, we'll see Korra tomorrow and you'll see for yourself that she's okay," he reminded her.

"I hope you're right," she whispered.

Tonraq planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Just try to get some more sleep. You're safe. I have you."

Senna sighed as she buried her face in her husband's chest as a fresh set of tears started. She knew she was safe. She just prayed it was true for their little girl.

*****

Senna rolled over in bed as the sound of glass breaking met her ears much later that night. Her eyes widened at the unfamiliar sound and she bolted upright. She turned to her left to shake Tonraq awake, but found she didn't need to. She could see he was gone already. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood and went searching for her husband. Entering the hallway, she found it empty. The strange thing was, the light was on. Following it, she found her husband in Korra's bedroom.

"Tonraq?" she entered the room and walked over to him.

"Senna, get out of here!" he ordered.

"Tonraq! What's going on? You never order me like-" her sentence was interrupted by another voice joining in the conversation. This voice was cold as ice and it sent a shiver down Senna's spine when she heard it.

"You should listen to your husband. Besides, we were just talking. And the subject matter might be a little intense for such a delicate creature such as you."

Senna glared at the speaker. She could see his silhouette even though the shadows hid his face.

"I'm not going anywhere," she stated strongly.

"Suit yourself," the figure shrugged.

"Senna, please…" Tonraq tried again, "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not leaving," she declared.

Sighing, Tonraq turned his attention to the intruder.

"As I was telling you Zahir, Korra isn't here. I'm telling you the truth."

"Oh I'm well aware she isn't here," Zahir sneered. "I know exactly where she is. You should really plan out your methods of protecting the ones you claim to love more carefully. As it so happens, I'm pals with a few white lotus members…"

Senna tried not to let her fear show. She just prayed Korra was safe.

"Oh she's safe…for now," Zahir directed his comment at Senna as though he had read her thoughts. "How long she remains so is up to me."

"If you touch Korra, you'll pay dearly," Tonraq threatened. He went forward and grabbed Zahir by his shirt collar.

"Tonraq, no!" Senna shouted. She wasn't opposed to the love of her life scaring some sense into this young man. But she had seen something just now that her husband wasn't aware of.

But Tonraq was on a roll. He pushed Zahir up against the wall and pinned him there.

"You listen to me and you listen well. And be sure to pass this message along to your friends. You will not touch my daughter again. If you even try, I will find out and hunt you down. Do you understand?"

Zahir nodded. He suddenly smirked as his left hand pulled a small object out of the pocket of his pants.

As Senna caught sight of the blade, she bent the water out of a cup Korra kept on her nightstand and formed it into a whip. Concentrating hard, she aimed it at Zahir. Satisfied when it hit its target, she readied another attack.

"You'll pay for that you water tribe wench!" Zahir glared at her.

Senna let the insult roll off her back like droplets of water after taking a shower. Instead, she concentrated on knocking the knife out of Zahir's hand. Throwing her second water whip, she smiled inside when she saw the knife fly from Zahir's hand. Her satisfaction was short lived when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right side. She fell to her knees as the pain increased.

"Senna!" Tonraq exclaimed.

Trying to fight through it, Senna tried to make her way over to Tonraq.

Zahir smiled when he saw the pain he had caused Tonraq's wife. Maybe now they would see who they were messing with and back off.

"Your daughter is next," with that final threat hanging in the air, Zahir jumped out of Korra's window and was gone.

"Senna, are you okay?" Tonraq was at her side in seconds. He helped her over to Korra's bed and laid her down.

"I'll…be…fine," Senna breathed as more pain came. "You need to heal me. I'll talk you through it."

"Shh, you need to save your strength. I know what to do," her husband assured her. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead before standing and getting the supplies. Returning to the room, he was back at his wife's side in seconds. "I'm proud of you. You saved my life."

"Nobody messes with the people I love," Senna whispered. She took a jagged breath. "Ta…Tonraq, we have to…Korra…she's…"

"Safe at the compound, at least for tonight. Right now, I'm worried about you."

"Honey, we need to get Korra…she's in…" her voice trailed off as a painful whimper escaped her lips.

"Shh, sweetheart, you need to stay quiet. Let me take care of you first," with that, Tonraq carefully but quickly removed Senna's pajama pants so he could inspect the damage to her right side. Only finding a trickle of blood, he frowned in confusion. As he saw Senna wince in pain and hold her right side, he realized where the injury was. Replacing her pants and removing her shirt instead, he gasped when he saw the size of the gash.

"Honey, you might need Katara to help you," he decided.

"You…can…do this," Senna whispered.

Tonraq nodded. He wished he had as much confidence in himself when it came to healing as his wife had in him. Taking a deep breath, he started the process. As he cleaned the wound, he tried to block out Senna's hisses of pain. He knew she would feel better once she was healed. After the wound was cleaned, Tonraq stole himself to heal it. Gathering the water from a nearby bowl, he waited until it glowed blue before pressing it to Senna's right side, near her right ribs. He relaxed when he felt Senna do the same.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I feel better now. I'm tired, but it doesn't hurt anymore," Senna heaved a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes to rest. "Thank you, honey."

"I can't believe I actually did it," Tonraq gently pulled Senna into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I told you you could," she whispered. "Now I'll bet you're glad you took those healing lessons from Katara."

"Definitely," her husband agreed. "I love you, Senna."

"I love you too," she replied.

"When I realized you were hurt, it was like the world stopped," Tonraq ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm okay now," Senna assured him. It was true. Her voice was stronger than it had been even a few minutes ago and the pain was almost completely gone.

"I'm glad," Tonraq rubbed her back.

"I'm just worried about Korra," Senna confessed as she felt the sting of tears.

"Me too," Tonraq admitted. "But we'll go and visit her tomorrow and you'll see she's okay."

"I hope you're right," Senna sighed as she rested her head against her husband's chest.

"Shh, you need your rest, honey. I love you," Tonraq caressed her cheek as he closed his eyes, letting sleep find him a few minutes later.

Senna soon joined him in dreamland. As she drifted off, she couldn't shake the feeling of for boating she had concerning Korra.

*****

The sound of someone knocking insistently at the front door was what woke Senna from her sound sleep. Sitting up, she disentangled herself from Tonraq's embrace, stood and went to answer it.

"I'm coming," she said aloud, hoping the person would hear her and stop knocking. Opening the door, she was met by Katara. The look on her face sent a shiver of fear coursing through the young mother's body. "Katara, what happened?"

"Senna, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but I wanted to come in person rather than call you."

Senna opened the door wider on auto pilot to allow her former waterbending master inside. She stepped back, using the wall for support. She watched as Katara closed the door behind her before continuing to speak.

"Where's Tonraq? He needs to hear this too," she informed her former student.

"I'm right here," Tonraq had heard the start of the conversation and he too knew something was wrong. He came to stand next to Senna and put an arm around her.

"What's going on?" he asked Katara.

Katara sighed.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna tell you. Korra has been kidnapped."

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
